"The subject matter will be tailored to fit Disney's family film mandate and likely a PG-13 rating," according to Deadline. Wright has come aboard before a writer's been hired, with he and Depp's Infinitum Nihil production company "will oversee and shape the project ... from the ground floor."

Depp is expected to play tabloid reporter Carl Kolchak, a role first made famous by the late Darren McGavin. Kolchak's intrepid investigations often entangled him with various ghouls and creatures of the night.